News

11 Aug 2015

Source BioScience Launches Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (‘NIPT’)

Source BioScience, the international laboratory services and products business, has launched a new non-invasive prenatal testing service, giving healthcare professionals access to a new technology to improve prenatal screening.

Requiring only a small maternal blood sample, non-invasive prenatal testing uses cutting edge next-generation sequencing technology to analyse foetal cell-free DNA (cfDNA) for chromosomal abnormalities. While invasive procedures such as amniocentesis and chorionic villus sampling carry a potential risk of miscarriage, NIPT is risk-free and can be performed as early as the tenth week of pregnancy.

Source BioScience uses the verifi® prenatal test, which screens for Down syndrome, Edwards syndrome and Patau syndrome. The test can also screen for other clinically significant genetic abnormalities and sex chromosome conditions.

NIPT provides expectant mothers with an additional choice in the prenatal screening process. Combined with ultrasound/serum findings, parents can use the result to decide whether or not to undergo an invasive procedure.

Dr Tom Burr, Scientific Director at Source BioScience, commented: “NIPT represents a real step forward in reducing the risk of testing during pregnancy. This test provides significant benefits that will hopefully lead to a reduction in the number of invasive tests performed in the future”.